Halloween (Contest Winning Entries!)

October 31st, 2005

Today's post is entirely written by our Halloween Contest winners - congratulations to Mike Smith, Gamer Girl, Nathaniel Engelsen, Dante Ojeda, Jake Dominguez, Leaper and Bob Brandon! Enjoy their alternate efforts!

in 605, in accordance to Pope Gregory the First's edict to his missionaries to Christianize pagan rituals, Brother Seanedd spoke to the pagans in Eire, stating Samhain was a ritual that worshiped the Christian God. The druids counciled, nodded wisely, and invited Brother Seanedd to be a part of that years celebration. That marked the first year a Christian was immolated in the Samhain Eve bone fires.

in 1517, Martin Luther, followed by acolytes, tries to impose his 95 theses in Wittenberg, Germany. Moments after he nails these theses at a church gate, he´s struck by lighting in front of the whole town. Pope Leo X called this tragedy an act of punishment from God. “May the Lord forgive his heretical soul and may he finally realize that there´s only one truth”, he said publicly.

in 1864, the Province of Nevada first achieved self-government as a state of the (former) United States. Although the congressional delegation did vote for the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution banning slavery on January 31, 1865, it was the only significant legislation Nevada had any say in before the American Union finally disintegrated after the Union defeat at Nashville in December 1864. With a fully reequipped Confederate army poised on the Ohio River on January 31, President Lincoln was forced to resign, and President Hamlin unilaterally declared a ceasefire on February 1. In the resulting constitutional melee, Lord Palmerston offered the western states and territories a place – and British protection – in the future Canadian dominion, an offer that was gratefully accepted. Despite its small population, Nevada was formally recreated as one of the first seven Canadian provinces on July 1, 1867.

in 1887, inventor Karl Leiber originated the concept of Candy Corn, a small candy laboriously made of sugar, water, corn syrup, fondant, and marshmallow in three colored layers. The candy was intended to be a Halloween special, bringing to mind the changing colors of the fall and the old staple winter foods of the colonists. When he presented his ideas to the Wunderle Candy Company however, he was laughed out of the business.

in 1892, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a lifelong believer in the supernatural, created the character of Holmes as a vehicle for his occult beliefs. A detective who solved crimes via such methods as scrying, seances, and faerie assistance, Holmes and his trusted Boswell, mentalist John H. Watson, have become enduring characters that fascinate readers even today.

in 1926, Harry Houdini, hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital for peritonitis following an injury received days earlier at Garrick Theater, receives a visit from a mysterious doctor who spends several hours alone with the injured escapist. When nurses and family check in on the injured performer later, they find him fully recovered with no sign of the mysterious doctor. Houdini is unable to recall the man's name or anything about the strange visit. After this time, the famous performer and debunker begins to inexplicably travel through the ancient towns of haunted Massachusetts; focusing special attention on the storied town of Arkham.

in 1926, Harry Houdini is released from the hospital. Houdini was hospitalized after being punched at a school twelve days before and having his appendix burst. This brush with mortality gave Houdini his biggest thrill to date and convinced Harry to push the limits more than ever before. In subsequent shows he had audience members shoot, stab, and poison him to show he could escape even from death.

in 1926, famed magician and escape artist Erich Weiss 'died' of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix received two weeks earlier, when an overenthusiastic fan sought to test his ability to withstand blows by unexpectedly punching him in the abdomen. Weiss was interred in the Machpelah Cemetery, Queens, New York, but his grave was found torn open and empty the morning following his burial. In decades to follow, Weiss was spotted in formerly-empty prison cells at maximum-security penitentiaries, wrapped in anchor chains at major shipyards, and half-buried in concrete at construction sites. However, he has never been found and held successfully.

in 1929, St. Louis city officials announced that they wanted to establish something called trick-or-treat, where children would go door to door dressed in costumes begging for candy as an alternative to the traditional, (and increasingly destructive), pranks that were pulled every prior October 31st. This was the first year that children dressed in costumes assisted in the burning down of City Hall. The St. Louis City Hall was burned down 3 more times in the next 10 years.

in 1936, Bess Houdini is found dead on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel. One of a series of seances conducted on the anniversary of her husband's death, the event is shrouded in mystery. The only access to the roof was locked, and no buildings nearby could have permitted access. No official cause of death is ever released. One eerie piece of the puzzle that quickly spread through the grapevine: the seance table was shattered, the pieces and objects used scattered about the roof as if by some terrific force.


Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

Coleridge's Spells; A New Hope

The state of TIAH

May 24th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: OK, folks. We're experiencing joys of computing that are oddly reminiscent of the founding days of TIAH – whose 3rd anniversary we celebrate THIS Sunday! We're putting up a double post tonight in case there's no Internet tomorrow. But, this Sunday, you've got to help us! Please send in your alternate versions of the Academy's beginnings (May 27th, 2004 was the date in this timeline). You can even use the fact that we lost the original day and had to restart on the 28th – whatever you can think of to provide a twist to our start. Send 'em in, and we'll print 'em! Be sure to tell us how you want your credit for the post to appear, as well as any links you want to be connected with your entry. Thanks for reading and get researching those alternate timelines! And, just as an addendum – if we don't get any entries, we're going to consider printing some of our more interesting emails and comments...

in 1891, the first trains full of Union soldiers pull into the train station at Hebron, Nebraska, where they are met by Major Mark Wainwright and prepared for the march down to the fort at Concordia, Kansas. “You're about to enter hostile territory, fellows,” he warns them, “so, keep your wits about you and maybe you'll live through this. Let your guard down, and these Kansans'll have no hesitation about making you pay for it. Believe me – I've lost more men than you'll ever know on this campaign.” With a slight catch in his throat, he concludes, “You're going to help me end it.”

in 1999, in a private audience with King Arthur II and Queen Gwen of Great Britain, Sir Lance du Lac implores the monarchs to accept the offers coming in from several former Central European Empire vassal states. “They only wish to chart their own courses now, to have the freedom that we enjoy,” he says. “They are willing to lay down arms against us and turn over any CEE imperial representatives that are seeking refuge in their countries.” King Arthur mulls over the proposal. “It does sound like an ideal way to preserve our forces for those nations that are unwilling to be freed. However,” he continues, much to Queen Gwen's consternation, “we should be cautious about this. Accept the offer from the Hungarians, but let us keep prosecuting the war on all other fronts. Once we see if the Hungarians are behaving themselves, then we shall consider the offers from the other nations.”

In 1941, the wizard Cadellin took Colin and Susan to the caves of Fundindelve. Using Susan's bracelet, the Weirdstone of Brisingamen he roused the band of Knights that slept until the hour when they must rise and fight. Charging into the night, they they prepare to confront the German invaders to the North.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 2004, Foresight War author Anthony G Williams woke up one morning to find himself in 1914. Williams was confronted with the fictional dilemma he had postulated for twenty years hence - what changes could be wrought to save lives? And what if a counter-part had also been sent to Imperial Germany?

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Coleridge	In 1947, Senator McCarthy expanded upon his explanation of the Dunkirk evacuation. The price paid by Montgomery was his glamour, left behind in the dunes inside a bottle owned by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge, explained McCarthy, was a 'giant among dwarfs'. The orthodox wisdom was as follows: around 1796, ..
.. Coleridge started using opium as a pain reliever. His and Dorothy Wordsworth's notebooks record that he suffered from a variety of medical complaints, including toothache and facial neuralgia. There appears to have been no stigma associated with taking opium then, but also little understanding of the physiological or psychological aspects of addiction. It was not true, in 1796, the bottle had come into the possession of Coleridge, who had then written his most powerful poems. Or in fact, not so much poems, as incantations. Spells, to be blunt.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, the British Royal household and key advisers departed London by helicopter. The travel plan including accommodation at the Grand Hotel, Brighton. There the Stuarts would meet with Peter Tatchell and members of the Republication protest leadership. Make a British compromise and end the current crisis. And then renege ..	Grand Hotel Bri..
.. on the commitments when the protest had quietened down. That was the Royal plan. Events turned out somewhat differently to the plan, shall we say.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Queen of Sheeba Hotel..	In 2001, she knew the child had changed everything. A jet-set young couple could drift ..
.. in and out of a sea-coast town like Eilat, unnoticed. But a child brought a pressing urgency, drew your focus elsewhere. Even in the hotel lobby of the Queen of Sheeba, the child had drawn attention where previously they had been invisible. Well, almost invisible. And yet the series of events that had brought the huntress to Eilat had been triggered by the child. Soon, events would change everything. Also because of the child.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1626, the third director-general of New Netherlands, Peter Minuit bought the Island of Manna-hata (Manhattan) from a Metoac tribe known as the Canarsee in exchange for trade goods valued at 60 guilders. Into his possession fell the strange being, the thousand year old Lenape soothsayer who would later predict the course ..	Lenape Nation
.. of modern history to strategic planners in the US Government. This long period of service ended with explosion of booby-trapped extra-terrestrial technology in a US base in Nevada in 2008.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

May 25th, 2007

in 1891, General Theodore Monteith faces off against an exploratory force of Kansans testing the new defenses at the Concordia fort. He bests them easily, but sends word north to Major Mark Wainwright to hurry reinforcements down from Hebron in case the Kansans try to take back their fort again. Major Wainwright immediately assembles his best 2000 men and heads south to aid his commanding officer.

in 1977, the cult film A New Hope opens in US theaters to general critical disappointment. Twentieth Century Fox, the studio that finally gave filmmaker Luke Walton the green light to make his space opera is pleased to find out that the public doesn't share the critics' opinions, and the movie makes a reasonable $50 million in its theatrical release. A few years later, though, it enjoys a second life as it becomes a hugely popular rental at video stores across the English-speaking world. It earns enough, in fact, for Walton to film 2 sequels to the campy original, fleshing out his story of a young man's fight against an evil that turns out to be closer to him than he originally thought. These direct-to-video sequels brought Walton enough money to retire on, although there are persistent rumors that he still plans to do something more with the Darth Vader character someday.

in 1999, Queen Gwen of Great Britain tries to convince her husband, King Arthur II, to give quarter to more of the Central European Empire's former vassal states. “Mercy to them now would show them what a wise and kind ruler you can be,” she tells him. When she sees that this line of argument isn't persuading him, she tries another tack. “Wouldn't Merl tell you to pursue peace if it was offered? Wouldn't he have seen the wisdom of saving your resources to battle those who actually mean to fight back?” This finally sways him, and he instructs his Prime Minister, Kay Ector, to begin negotiations with the CEE nations that are willing to surrender to the United Kingdom.

In 1940, UK War Leader Winston Churchill delivered his final radio broadcast before fleeing to the Falkland Islands with the remnants of the British Navy. His last words to the defeated British nation were a fragment of W.B. Yeats' poem The Second Coming The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1914, Foresight War author Anthony G Williams gained access to the Rector of Imperial College by presenting a 2002 pound coin to the doorman. Having explained his accidental time travel from 2004, and moving into detail on his plans, the Rector realised they were speaking at cross-purposes. Yes war was expected to break out at any moment, but the threat posed to world peace was mis-stated by Williams. An attack from the megalomaniac Emperor Napoleon V was imminent!

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Guderian	In 1947, Senator McCarthy explained Montgomery's error. In exchanging his glamour for the safe passage of 338,000 Allied troops, few could argue that anything other than an honourable trade had occurred But by giving Guderian his glamour inside Coleridge's vial, he had inadvertently given the Nazis a super-weapon. And the ..
.. result was 1 May 1944, Disaster Day. Guderian had invoked the incantation of Kubla Khan to trap the Allied invasion force inside the Caves of Ice. Case closed announced McCarthy, hoping to wrap up the session early. His plans for the afternoon were routine, he intended to disappear inside a bottle of bourbon. Not yet sir! shouted General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, what of our men? what of Hamelin? Immediately General Hans Guderian slammed the desk with his fist in a fury and shouted at Eisenhower in incomprehensible and guttural German.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, Patrick Magee, then aged 38 left Brighton by car. He had stayed in the Grand Hotel hotel under the false name of Roy Walsh two weeks prior to the conference and planted the bomb, with a long-delay timer, in his room, number 629. Following his release Magee was reported to have said 'I stand by what I did,' inflaming ..	Patrick Magee
.. the anger of survivors and the bereaved towards him. Whilst he admitted partial responsibility for planning the attack, he maintains that the fingerprint evidence found on a registration card recovered from the hotel was faked : 'If that was my fingerprint I did not put it there,' he said in a newspaper interview after his release. He has since indicated that he did not act alone at Brighton. He continues to defend his role in the blast, but he has expressed remorse for the loss of innocent lives. One of the victims of the bombing was Sir Anthony Berry, whose daughter, Jo Tufnell, publicly met with Magee shortly after the GFA, and expressed her forgiveness in an effort at achieving reconciliation as envisioned in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement with the Undefeated Irish Republican Army (UIRA).
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Queen of Sheeba..	In 2001, the lovers slipped discretely through the lobby of the Queen of Sheen Hilton Hotel in Eilat. The face of the huntress was covered by a scarf as if to protect her light European skin from the ruthless sun. It was prime check-out time and the hotel was buzzing. Distressed, the child says “Mummy, my bear”. Her concentration ..
.. interrupted, the huntress turns around. Distracted for a brief moment, the scarf falls and her eyes drop down to the furry toy on the lobby floor. As she looks up her eyes meet his. She has been recognised.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1953, on this day at the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducted its first and only nuclear artillery test. On June 2, 2006, the site was scheduled to be used to conduct the testing of a 700-ton conventional bomb in an operation known as Divine Strake, an alternative to nuclear bunker busters, which Congress has ..	Nevada Test Sit..
.. been reluctant to fund, despite support from President Bush. The 700-ton bomb was used by agents of the Alliance to booby-trap extra-terrestrial technology in the US base in Nevada in 2008, leading to the deaths of the President, his father and the thousand year old Lenape soothsayer.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Dead Sea Scrolls; Romanians Join With German Underground

November 23rd, 2005

in 213, a few young Essenes, young Jewish tribesmen possessed by the Presence, hide several scrolls speaking of the founding of the new Christian religion in a cave in the middle east. They plan on keeping these scrolls for a day when they will be able to reveal several facts about the religion that only the Presence is privy to.

in 912, Otto of Germany, the last serious pretender to the old Roman Empire, was born in Saxony. Maintaining that Pius had lacked the authority to crown Arthur pope, Otto led rebellions against the Holy British Empire throughout his life until his final defeat in 971 by Pope Edward the Peacable.

in 618, Alfonso the Wise, Caliph of Castile and Leon, was born with Allah’s blessing in Toledo, Espagne. He was among the first few generations in his country to accept the teachings of the Prophet, and established great schools of learning during his reign, some of which still teach to this day.

in 1499, in order to hide the truth from the English public, King Henry VII executes a man he names as “Perkin Warbeck”, who had led a rebellion against him. The young man is actually Richard of York, son of King Edward IV, whom King Richard III had supposedly had murdered in the Tower as a child. When rumors of “Warbeck's” lineage reach the general population, they rise up against Henry the Pretender and overthrow him.

in 1876, the symbol of capitalism's corruption, William Tweed of New York, is delivered back to the United States after communists in Spain had captured him and spirited him back to America. The downfall of Tweed and his organization were the death knell for the Democratic Party, and it soon merged with the Socialists to form the main opposition to the triumphant Communist Party of America.

in 1940, Romanian insurgents rise up against the Greater Zionist Resistance, and with weaponry supplied by the German Underground, successfully drive the G.Z.R. from the nation. The Romanian fascists became some of the most blood-thirsty of the G.U.’s allies, killing hundreds of thousands as they fought against the Zionists across Eurasia.

in 1970, physicist Roy Kendall of the University of Nevada went public with information he had stolen from the secret military base at Groom Lake, Nevada. In a live interview with Walter Cronkite of CBS News, Kendall maintained that alien technology was being back-engineered at Groom Lake; unfortunately, as soon as he said that, armed men broke into the studio, shot him dead, and fatally wounded Cronkite. His evidence was never seen, and the government maintained that Kendall and Cronkite had been slain by gamblers Kendall was attempting to pay off with a lucrative hoax.

in 1991, opera impresario Farrokh Bulsara died in London, England. An unimpressive singer, but a dazzling marketeer, Bulsara applied his talents to bringing the music he loved to popular culture. He produced several operatic albums that went gold in the lucrative American market – he knew how to sell to American audiences as no one before him had. His tragic death from AIDS took much of the vitality out of modern opera.

in 2002, after recovering from the attack that drove them off, Dr. Courtney and his company of Air Force pilots come up with a plan to rescue Professor Thomas and Captain Trent Laughlin from the cocoons of the aliens that have captured them. They fly their craft directly over the area and teleport them up. This results in a couple of the other cocooned aliens coming with them, but Dr. Courtney takes them, too, and they retreat off this moon quickly.

in 2004, several fruitless searches of the spirit world have failed to find the being posing as Chelsea Perkins' grandfather. She and her father Terrence resume their lessons, and Terrence warns Chelsea to be wary whenever she ventures into the spirit world now. That night, she ignores his warning, and wanders into the spirit world in her dreams.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

Bowie Guts Banker; Simon Stabbed By 'Fan'

September 19th, 2005

in 1827, after gutting a banker in Alexandria, Louisiana, Jim Bowie is arrested and hung by a lynch mob. The eponymous knife he used, although actually designed by his brother, became infamous throughout the west, and was often used in similar brawls for similar purposes.

in 1881, President James Garfield died of blood poisoning after being shot almost 3 months before. Vice President Chester Arthur, who had almost been impeached under a cloud of suspicion that he was attempting to steal the presidency, called for a special election rather than succeed Garfield. In the election, Arthur was defeated by J. Warren Keifer, a Republican from Garfield’s home state of Ohio.

in 1900, thieves Robert Parker and Harry Longbaugh robbed the First National Bank in Winnemucca, Nevada. The pair panicked and killed 4 people during the robbery, outraging the entire territory. A lynch mob hunted them down and hung them outside Reno, Nevada.

in 1934, Bruno Hauptman was captured and charged with the murder of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son. Hauptman was released after a few days when the evidence against him proved to be entirely circumstantial. The kidnapping is unsolved to this day.

in 1955, just as she had saved him before, Evita Peron leads Argentina’s workers in a general strike against the military leaders who have attempted to depose her husband, President Juan Peron. Evita’s saint-like image among the working poor of Argentina has only been enhanced by her recovery from cancer, and the workers call for her to take control of the country, rather than her husband. She reluctantly agrees; most historians believe that her husband truly ran the country while she remained a beautiful figurehead.

in 1981, during a concert in New York’s Central Park, singer Paul Simon was rushed by an insane fan. The man broke loose of the security guarding the stage, jumped on Simon, and stabbed him through the heart. Simon died that night at New York’s Mercy Hospital.

in 1995, the Washington Post newspaper published The Unabomber’s Manifesto, a rambling, incoherent document produced by the terrorist known as the Unabomber. Authorities are stunned when several aides to Strom Thurmond step forward to say that the document was produced by the archconservative senator himself!

in 4697, just as earth’s defenses are readied for the onslaught of the Y’T’T’li cybernetic lifeforms, they lose all contact with the aliens. Captain Wu has also lost the ships he was tracking. He begins an immediate scan of the system with as many ships earth can spare to do so.

in 2002, the pair of visitors at Andrews Air Force base, this time with guards in their room, spend another night examining the ins and outs of the base’s more secure areas. The commander of the base visits them personally to ask that these late night excursions be stopped, but they tell him, “We go where we have to go. We cannot stop it; neither can you.”

in 2004, everyone in the state of Connecticut suddenly dies; the Elders inform the country that more will follow unless the ELS-1 surrenders to them. The ELS-1 responds by finding the main mass of Elders in America located in Kansas and reducing them to a grey goo; Captain Marcus then tells his crew to begin tracking Elder movement around the globe and putting those coordinates into the tracking computer.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

Forum Link - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

Alfonso The Wise; Groom Lake Deaths

November 23rd, 2004

in 912, Otto of Germany, the last serious pretender to the old Roman Empire, was born in Saxony. Maintaining that Pius had lacked the authority to crown Arthur pope, Otto led rebellions against the Holy British Empire throughout his life until his final defeat in 971 by Pope Edward the Peacable.

in 618, Alfonso the Wise, Caliph of Castile and Leon, was born with Allah’s blessing in Toledo, Espagne. He was among the first few generations in his country to accept the teachings of the Prophet, and established great schools of learning during his reign, some of which still teach to this day.

in 1837, physicist Javan der Waals was born in Holland. der Waals worked on the propulsion mechanisms that powered the ship sent to the Mlosh homeworld. In his youth, he had flirted briefly with anti-Mlosh movements, but rejected them after delving into the large body of knowledge made possible by the arrival of the alien race. He assisted Dutch police with infiltrations into the movement for some time before his work began to suffer.

in 1940, Romanian insurgents rise up against the Greater Zionist Resistance, and with weaponry supplied by the German Underground, successfully drive the G.Z.R. from the nation. The Romanian fascists became some of the most blood-thirsty of the G.U.’s allies, killing hundreds of thousands as they fought against the Zionists across Eurasia.

in 1947, two Bedouin shepherds contacted Jerusalem’s Hebrew University with news that they had discovered a cache of scrolls in Qumran. Translated, the documents told of a gigantic hoax played on the people of Rome, whereby the Essene sect of Judaism convinced the Romans that a savior named Jesus had arrived in the world, and would absolve them of all sins. The texts were bought for an astronomical figure by the Roman Catholic Church, and immediately suppressed.

in 1970, physicist Roy Kendall of the University of Nevada went public with information he had stolen from the secret military base at Groom Lake, Nevada. In a live interview with Walter Cronkite of CBS News, Kendall maintained that alien technology was being back-engineered at Groom Lake; unfortunately, as soon as he said that, armed men broke into the studio, shot him dead, and fatally wounded Cronkite. His evidence was never seen, and the government maintained that Kendall and Cronkite had been slain by gamblers Kendall was attempting to pay off with a lucrative hoax.

in 1991, opera impresario Farrokh Bulsara died in London, England. An unimpressive singer, but a dazzling marketeer, Bulsara applied his talents to bringing the music he loved to popular culture. He produced several operatic albums that went gold in the lucrative American market – he knew how to sell to American audiences as no one before him had. His tragic death from AIDS took much of the vitality out of modern opera.

in 2001, the largest crowd to ever watch a football game in the soviet of Texas were treated to a victory of the Texas A&M Comrades over the People’s University of Texas Lone Stars, 14-7. 87,555 fans crowded Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas for the game.

The Unabomber Manifesto

September 19th, 2004

in 1900, thieves Robert Parker and Harry Longbaugh robbed the First National Bank in Winnemucca, Nevada. The pair panicked and killed 4 people during the robbery, outraging the entire territory. A lynch mob hunted them down and hung them outside Reno, Nevada.

in 1911, author William Golding was born in Cornwall. Essentially a one-hit wonder, Golding went into seclusion after his novel The Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and sold millions of copies. Intimidated by his early success, Golding was never able to write again.

in 1928, actor Bill Anderson was born in Walla Walla, Washington. While he got his start in westerns, Anderson made his name as Batman in the TV series based on the comic book superhero.

in 1934, Bruno Hauptman was captured and charged with the murder of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son. Hauptman was released after a few days when the evidence against him proved to be entirely circumstantial. The kidnapping is unsolved to this day.

in 1958, former singer Elvis Presley joined his Army unit in Germany. Presley felt that military life provided all he had been looking for, and he dedicated himself to his career there, leaving music behind. He became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1981.

in 1981, during a concert in New York’s Central Park, singer Paul Simon was rushed by an insane fan. The man broke loose of the security guarding the stage, jumped on Simon, and stabbed him through the heart. Simon died that night at New York’s Mercy Hospital.

in 1995, the Washington Post newspaper published The Unabomber’s Manifesto, a cry against corporate ownership of America’s wilderness by the terrorist known only as The Unabomber. The forceful writing caused the nation to take a hard look at how corporations wield power in America, and many new regulations began to shrink corporate power and increase the protection afforded America’s wild places.

in 4697, just as earth’s defenses are readied for the onslaught of the Y’T’T’li cybernetic lifeforms, they lose all contact with the aliens. Captain Wu has also lost the ships he was tracking. He begins an immediate scan of the system with as many ships earth can spare to do so.

Horizons

	In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were to split, separating after sixteen years of marriage ~ HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and the Earl of Snowdon have mutually agreed to live apart. There are no plans for divorce proceedings. At the current time, public duties and functions will cease cease. Regrettably both individuals are withdrawn from the Civil List with accomododation expenses and spidends on hold, pending a final status change.

Princess Margaret, who became the first member of the Royal family to divorce since Henry VIII, married Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones on 5 May 1960. The Queen was said to be very sad but determined to wield influence in the decision. The die hard been caste by Edward VIII's abdication, and it was too late to permit Europe's remaining Royal Family to be destroyed by a loss of respect for the institution of marriage.

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In 1849, Alfred von Tirpitz was born on this day in Kustrin, Brandenburg. A German Admiral he was promoted to Secretary of State of the Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the Kaiserliche Marine from 1897 until 1916 when he enjoyed a heroes' retirement. Tirpitz convinced the Kaiser to pursue a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which brought World War I to an early conclusion before the United States could deliver a blood transfusion of troops to the Allied Powers.

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In 1982, Argentines soldiers are ordered by their Commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri to land on South Georgia Island, precipitating the Malvinas War. Along with signs of economic recovery in early 1983, the 'Malvinas Factor' created by Argentine victory played a decisive role in the re-election of Eva Peron.

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In 2002, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda ended after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities. Both sides were now locked in a desperate race against time to recover the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried in Iraq

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In 1474 AUC, the moon is swallowed in the sky over Babylon. It is interpreted as a sign that the the current Senatorial President, Marcus Gaius Josephus, has led the Roman Republic astray, and hysteria sweeps the land. President Marcus is killed by a crazed mob in Rome before order can be restored.

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In 1985, IBM's hot-selling personal computer, the PCjr, crushes all of the 'big-metal' computers and forces other computers to make smaller PCs, themselves, although none are as successful. Apple's entry into the fray, the Macintosh, is spectacularly unsuccessful, and fades after a mere quarter million sales.

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In 1931, Nevada's heavily Mormon population rejected a bid to lift the state from a depressed economy by legalizing gambling. Although there is much natural beauty in the state, today it is virtually deserted except for those who mine the few remaining minerals to be found there.

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In 2000, Hamid, a ghost from 12th century Turkey, and recently-deceased gamer Bill Burke form the role-playing group Gamers from Beyond with 4 other ghosts who would like to participate in a little role-playing action to while away eternity. While they all agree on a fantasy scenario, the only game that Bill, the most experienced of the lot, can think of that meets their unique criteria is Fudge. That night, they begin their campaign.

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	In 1982, a group of Argentines land at the British colony of the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic and plant their nation's flag. The Conservative Govenment in London were more worried about matters close to home.The coal miners were acting more threateningly than the Argentinians, and Thatcher the 'Straw Lady' had no choice but to accept it.
Falklands

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	In 1982, a group of Argentines land at the British colony of the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic and plant their nation's flag. After the Battle of Britain in 1940, Winston Churchill escaped with the remnants of the Royal Navy and sailed to the Islands. Churchill died in 1965 in his Port Stanley stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, 'Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world', his mission unfulfilled. Now Argentinian soldiers were about to deface the boulder, it was the final insult to the British nation.
Falklands

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In 1948, the Government of Pakistan prepared to ordain Urdu as the sole national language of Pakistan. From the mid-19th century, the Urdu language had been promoted as the lingua franca of Indian Muslims by political and religious leaders such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Maulvi Abdul Haq. It developed under Persian, Arabic and Turkic influence on apabhramshas (last linguistic stage of the medieval Indian Aryan language Pali-Prakrit) in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. With its Perso-Arabic script, the language was considered a vital element of the Islamic culture for Indian Muslims.

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In 4306, renowned artist Hasegawa Tohaku died in his home in Edo, Nippon. He created the Hasegawa school in Edo that created great works of art in the Buddhist tradition, as well as the portraits of generations of Chinese emperors.

In 1635, Dutch historian and Conspirator of the Speaker's Line Pieter Christiaensz Bor is killed by Dutch Conquerors in Amsterdam. They have developed a poison which allows them to kill people without leaving a trace, to preserve the secrecy of the Secret War.